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Not enough pats on the head for Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, women, gays, animal rights supporters, you name it.

The solution, they say, is to pat these impressionable little people on the head enough times until they get a nice warm feeling in their breasts about Republicans.

Mint new citizens out of illegal immigrants, and presto – Latinos will love the GOP! Admit the battle against abortion is lost, and the gender gap is but a bad memory! Stop clinging to your Bibles and accept gay marriage, and homosexuals will come flooding into the Republican Party!

Sorry, it’s not going to happen. Pandering won’t work. Panderers are rightly disdained, because they are disrespecting both themselves and their subjects.

None of these groups vote because of a single issue. If people voted based on one thing, President Barack Obama would be cleaning out his desk, because his signature achievement – Obamacare – is unpopular.

Republicans are unquestionably more supportive of Israel than Democrats. And yet Jews voted overwhelmingly for Obama.

What the various interest groups need that Republicans have failed to give them is respect, attention, and love.

Yes, as weird as it sounds in a political context - love. Because frankly, I don’t think most Republicans care much about these groups.

Republicans often talk about broadening the tent. Well if they did do so, they either didn’t invite a lot of minorities in, or they stuck them over in the corner to talk with the other nerds.

Do you remember all those speeches Romney gave in Latino and black neighborhoods in the cities and inner suburbs?

You don’t? Neither do I. As far as I’m aware, there weren’t any, or at best very few.

If Republicans want to win national elections, the Republican National Committee must today begin a four-year project to bring the message of conservatism to those who aren’t hearing it. Not a message tailored to one group or another. But a message that conservatism works for everyone.

I always found George W. Bush’s term “compassionate conservatism” deeply insulting. It asserts that conservatism isn’t on its own compassionate. But while conservatism sometimes offers tough medicine, the cure it provides is deeply compassionate.

Republicans need to go directly into the black communities and ask, “How has 50 years of an expanding welfare state worked out for you?”

I can only speak for myself as a member of one of the groups you mentioned in your article, but, IMO, when it comes to why black Americans shunned the GOP, YOU are CLUELESS. Some of you Republicans are so myopic! YOU just don't realize how angry SOME people in your party made black Americans with their constant disrespect of President Obama AND Mrs. Obama (Even the leftist "Bush haters" left Laura Bush alone.) plus the clumsy and blatant attempts at "voter suppression" in black population areas in strategic swing states (One GOP Pennsylvania official was STUPID enough to admit in public the REAL purpose of this tactic WAS voter suppression.). These factors WOKE UP most black Americans to the dangers of having Willard Romney and the GOP (in it's present form) prevail.

From reading many opinions posted by conservative commenters on the internet, I can see they mostly think of black Americans in STEREOTYPICAL terms (lazy, ignorant, white-people- hating creatures who want "free stuff"), well, some of us black people might fit that description just like many white people do (except the white hating part), the FACT is the overwhelming MAJORITY of black Americans are HARDWORKING, tax paying, law-abiding peaceful citizens who have loyally FOUGHT in every conflict in which our beloved country has been engaged, In fact, the first casualty of the Revolutionary War was a black person, Crispus Attucks.

As a black American who was born, raised and still lives in the Southeastern section of our nation, I can confidentially predict that until most white Republicans can shed their racial animus toward their fellow citizens who are black, I DON'T see black AMericans considering the GOP as a political home anytime soon. I am not naive enough to expect to see this in my life time so I am not holding my breath. They will recruit the Hispanics before they do black people because they are more racially "acceptable", but I believe that as long as there is an America black people will prevail because as Dr. King believed "The arc of history bends toward JUSTICE".

BTW, Mr. Koffler, I can always tell the white writers who DON'T know many black people personally.

#1---The “FOX NEWS” WHITE (especially white men) MASS-PSYCHOSIS can no longer win national elections! Romney's psychosis and that of many other Republicans: “shellshocked!”

#2---For the first time ever, TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS WORKED! The wealthiest 1% Americans spent almost $1 billion of personal money on TV ads to defeat President Obama. This money, normally squirreled away overseas, instead stimulated the US economy!

#3---The Citizens United decision, where the Supreme Court declared “ALL THE FREE SPEECH MONEY CAN BUY,” led to Republicans picking their worst possible Presidential candidate!

#4---The Republican TAXCUT-AND-SPEND philosophy of the last 30 years won elections, but destroyed the conservative brand and left our country with massive debt! What CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES?

First, keep in mind that Republicans did not lose by all that much...and with 0 cheating, may not have lost at all assuming quite a bit happened.And number 1 before next election, is to get voter ID in place and work on the total integrity of our elections.2nd, we need someone with the ability to express how much better to have a good job than being on Government aid, because you soon run out of other peoples money and it's just not good for our Country.Don't be hoodwinked by the Democrats who WANT as many people as possible to be on Gov.help to insure your vote.Romney was right in what he said.Santy Clause Obama.Only he isn't paying for all of those goodies from his own pocket.Keep in mind everyone, this middle class talk by Obama...you wait until if the gas prices, food, electric, ect...go up.A tax raise may sound good in comparison.Besides ...read this : HALF YOUR PAYCHECK TO GO TO GOVERNMENT IN 2013 ....Gerri Willis ...you may have been sold a bill of goods.

"All you need is love doesn't work when you don't have a job. Thank goodness President Obama has given us food stamps, unemployment checks, and a mobile phone. Now we need a quick path to citizenship."

cwt, you are one of the reasons the GOP is getting its posterior handed to it on a platter. And unless the GOP gets lucky and you fringe Right folks leave the GOP and form your own Know Nothing party, the GOP is going to continue to get its clueless rear kicked from one side of the electoral map to the other.

And then what happens when those very same minorities say back to you: "If your conservative policies are so good, then why didn't they help us during the Bush Administration, which you supported wholeheartedly and uncritically?" What do you say to them?

"First, keep in mind that Republicans did not lose by all that much..."

I love this meme, and I love it when math-challenged GOPers repeat it to themselves. The week before the election Republicans were absolutely certain that Romney was going to win in a landslde. Instead, Obama won 332 to 206 in the electoral votes, and the popular vote count now has Obama winning by nearly 4 million votes. The GOP got massacred in the Senate, and lost ground in the House. Of the past 6 elections, the GOP has won the popular presidential vote only once. That's right, once. Against a backdrop of GOP pundits stating that minorities wouldn't turn out this cycle, and that every indicator pointed to a commanding GOP win, Obama won decisively.

You can ignore the math if you want (and in fact, as a progressive I hope you do), but this sort of ignorance and wishful thinking in the GOP base is going to lead to dumber and dumber decisions in the GOP primaries.

There was 0 cheating, but plenty of attempts at disfranchisement. When Republicans lose, they tend to blame everyone and everything but themselves.

Since there were record numbers of people ensuring the integrity of voting this go round from both parties, that would basically leave you with two possible takeaways: if there was fraud, they were a. too stupid to notice or b. in on the scam.

I concur with Keith Koffler and I will go one step further. The loud and silent vibe that republicans exude is one of complete greed and disregard for humankind. It resonates in their speech and in their action. While they talk about conservatism and God, they on the other hand, show so much hatred and virulence that one can but ask if they really believe in God as they say they do.

The past four years and now the re-election of president Obama have shown how far they will go to destroy one man. Does their action speak in the name of God? Which God do they believe in? Do the Ten Commandments say thou shall judge, demean, betray, torture, point fingers, and kill anyone who does not fit your vision?

I am taking count of all the companies that are firing, laying off and cutting down hours of their employees. Please tell me if this is the action of people who care about mankind. I view their mansions and their lavish lifestyle and I question their compassion for humanity. There is so much hypocrisy behind their words that their judgement baffles me.

Democrats are not perfect because they are but human but their words and action speak of a Lesser Evil, and for as long as republicans continue bashing Asians, Blacks, Females, Gays, Latinos and Native Americans they will be considered simply the Bigger Evil and a threat to the survival of humanity as it moves forward.

Evolution is always painful. Will we as a society continue to adhere and condone greed, virulence and hatred or will we demand love by our own actions? Only the future will tell.

If you don't draw a clear distinction between between yourself and your opponent then what's the point of even running?"

Cool. Just keep the GOP running on campaigns basically saying that minorities are moochers. It got you a lot of mileage this time around and you'll do even better with it as further demographic shifts occur. This strategy was stupid even when it was a winning strategy. Now it's insane.